The present invention is related to the field of network delivery of computer application services to users.
There is widespread use of computer-based services that are delivered to users via some type of network. Well known examples include the serving of hypertext and other information files by servers in the Internet, and interactive voice response (IVR) systems via which telephone users can access various types of databases or services. The Internet model of information access is becoming available via wireless devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless telephones are increasingly being used as a supplement to or instead of traditional wire-line phones.
The services available via different communications networks are largely independent of each other. For example, IVR applications—accessible via wire-line or wireless phones via voice interface—are generally integrated in some fashion with a switched telephone network, either public or private, whereas data applications—accessible via computers and handheld devices via data interface—are deployed in connection with some type of data network, such as the Internet or a corporate data network. A user interacting with one of these applications receives a relatively limited experience, in that the user interacts via either voice or data but not both simultaneously. For example, in an IVR application, a user is given selection choices in the form of a list of voice statements; there is no displaying of selection information such as is common in computer user interfaces. Similarly, in data applications there is generally no provision for voice interaction between the system and users. These limitations stem at least in part from the nature of the communications networks on which the services are deployed and the devices from which these services are accessed. The telephone network has been designed primarily to carry voice traffic, and provides only a very basic transmission function when carrying data. The data networks such as the Internet have been designed primarily for file transfer and other computer data exchange; only recently have these networks begun to carry voice and other real-time media. Furthermore, access devices have typically been capable of delivering either voice only or data only. Even with newer access devices that are capable of delivering both voice and data, content delivery is limited to either voice or data but not both simultaneously, due to the absence of converged or rich-media application delivery systems.